A New York VC Spotlight: Sim Blaustein

Sim Blaustein joined Bertelsmann’s corporate venture fund, BDMI, in January 2012, and quickly established himself as a frontrunner among the entrepreneurial pack.

BDMI is an early-stage fund whose corporate parent, Bertelsmann, is one of the leading global media companies. Blaustein focuses largely on digital media.

Before joining BDMI, Blaustein served as partner and co-founder of High Line Venture Partners, a seed fund based in NYC, backed by IAC, where he was also Senior Director of Strategy and M&A. At High Line, Blaustein worked on over 30 investments in eCommerce and digital media, including Listia, Foodspotting, HowABoutWe and SeatGeek. Blaustein’s interests laid not only in the evaluation of potential investments, but also in the internal business strategies of the companies themselves.

Blaustein received his MBA in 2008 from MIT Sloan, where he led the school’s Venture Capital conference as Managing Director of the MIT Venture Capital & Private Equity Club. While at Sloan, Blaustein interned at Akamai in Corporate Development. There, he helped the company establish a strategic venture program.

Before pursuing his MBA, he was an associate at Gabriel Venture Partners for three years, focusing on early-stage venture capital in wireless, semiconductors and enterprise IT. Blaustein also has four years of experience in the communications and networking field, notably as a management consultant with R.B. Webber & Co. and as product manager with TollBridge Technologies, a VolP startup.